Parties to a crime | Lanbuk on Criminal Law

In simple terms

In Sierra Leone, felonies still have four degrees of participation. England abolished the old classification of felonies and misdemeanours. This chapter states the Sierra Leone classification.

Crimes in Sierra Leone are still classified as treason, felonies and misdemeanours. England replaced that division, by the Criminal Law Act 1967, with arrestable and non-arrestable offences. For a felony there are four degrees. The principal in the first degree is the perpetrator. In murder it is the person who struck the fatal blow. In bigamy it is the person who, being married, marries again. In perjury it is the person who lies on oath. In larceny it is the person who takes and carries away with the intention to steal. Two people can be joint perpetrators. If several act together in a common intent, every act done in furtherance is, in law, the act of all of them. That is Macklin and Murphy. Part of the crime may be done by one and part by another. In burglary, one may break and the other enter. In , the person who composes, the person who prints and the person who publishes are all principals.

The principal in the second degree is present, aiding and abetting, at the time of the felony. An accessory before the fact is absent, but counsels, procures or commands it. An accessory after the fact assists the felon afterwards, knowing of the felony. Mere failure to arrest is not enough. In misdemeanours and in summary offences there is no accessory before the fact. Participants are liable as principals.

An innocent agent is a person who does the external act without , or who has a defence. The instigator is then the principal. A postman who delivers a letter he does not know contains anthrax is the agent. The person who sent it is the principal. If someone persuades another to shoot, by persuading him that the target is an animal, the persuader is the principal. A child under seven is . An adult who sends the child to steal is the principal in the first degree, because the child has not committed the crime. Michael is the poison case. The mother gave what she called medicine to the nurse. The nurse's own child administered it. The child who was meant to die did die. The mother was of murder.

Boys under fourteen are irrebuttably presumed to be incapable of sexual intercourse. They cannot be convicted of rape as principal in the first degree. They can be convicted as . A person who agrees with another to commit a crime is a conspirator. A person who encourages another to commit it, and who is not himself the perpetrator, is an accessory if the crime is committed.

Words and Latin in this note

Doli incapax: Incapable of crime. Under seven the bar is absolute. From seven to fourteen there is a presumption that the child did not know the act was seriously wrong, and the prosecution may rebut it. Open the note.
Accomplice: A witness who was a party to the offence, a receiver giving evidence against the thieves, or a party to another offence the prosecution uses to prove the charge. If the prosecution calls him, the judge warns the jury of the danger of convicting on his evidence alone. Open the note.
Mens rea: The mental element in the definition of a crime. It is not one standard. Intention is the highest form. Recklessness is below it. Gross negligence sits at the bottom. The definition of the particular crime decides which is required. Open the note.

Memory map

Parties to a crime

Key points

Sierra Leone still uses principal in the first…
Joint perpetrators are each liable for what is…
The person who acts through an innocent agent,…

Cases

R v Macklin and Murphy
R v Michael

Key terms

Mens rea
Doli incapax
Conviction
Defamation

Take-home points

Sierra Leone still uses principal in the first degree, principal in the second degree, accessory before the fact and accessory after the fact.
Joint perpetrators are each liable for what is done in furtherance of the common intent.
The person who acts through an innocent agent, including a child under seven, is the principal.